Cases for Reference and Research

a comparative analysis of state level policies in Florida, Wisconsin, and Idaho [and] discuss implications for possible similar legislation in Pennsylvania.

Authors of “Legislating First-Year Writing Placement: Implications for Pennsylvania and Across the Country” use Chapter 18 of Writing Program Architecture as a case study of the Basic Writing Program at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. There, the WPA revised their placement process and basic writing program in order to continue to support struggling writers in the wake of drastic budget cuts. The writers of the JWA article use the Basic Writing program at UWS to argue that programs across the country should be taking pro-active approaches to placement and assessment as state legislation takes more control over defining “college-ready.”

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The metaphor of architecture allows us to imagine the constituent parts of a writing program as its foundation, beams, posts, scaffolding – the institutional structures that, alongside its people, anchor a program to the ground and keep it standing.

Blog Posts

Pegeen Reichert Powell, Columbia College Chicago

“The book will be tremendously useful to WPAs at all stages in their careers. . . . Because it is such a unique contribution to WPA literature, many readers may find themselves thinking that they didn’t realize they needed a resource like this, but they will be very glad to have it.”

Susan Miller-Cochran, University of Arizona

“One of the most challenging aspects of being a writing program administrator is the perpetual need to come up with creative, strategic, and practical solutions to a wide range of issues. Writing Program Architecture offers the kinds of resources, reference material, and logistical information that WPAs need to come up with those solutions—proven options that have worked in specific local contexts.”